Bad to the Bone

 

My latest edition to the collection is a Kharn Brute.  I got this figure at the Dollar Tree.  It is from their Final Faction Line.  According to the fluff, the Kharn are an alien race determined to plunder the Earth of its resources.  I have modified several Kharn figures already and couldn't resist adding this one to the fold.

I made a multitude of modifications to the figure as well as giving it a repaint.  I first took the figure apart so I could remove the arms.  I then reassembled it and glued the head and legs into place.  Crayola Model Magic was added to where the arms were attached so that I could change the angle of the arms from the torso.  Once the arms were glued into their new positions, I was ready to add weapons.

The bone club on the right was made from a pack of 36 bones from the Dollar Tree's Halloween accessories. The bones are made from foam so I coated it with multiple layers of PVA glue and Modge Podge to harden it before a painted it.  I then sealed it.

The sword is a modified Chaos Sword from Warhammer.  I replaced the grip of the sword and the pummel (now a skull).  I had a bunch of spare parts left over from the set of Vargheists I've been working on. I added bone-pierced flesh to the upper arms of the beast, a set of tusks to the mouth, and 4 boney spikes along the spine on the back.  The top spike has an impaled upper human torso on it.

The entire creature was painted coal black.  I went back and highlighted the raised areas with a metallic purple.  When everything was dry, I clear-coated the entire figure.

The pic is not the best (sorry).  I like the way the figure turned out.  It looks like it is pissed and on a rampage.  Because of this, I have renamed the creature a Kharn Rampager.

Been a While

Life has a funny way of leading you onto paths that  you thought that you would never take.  My son's girlfriend recently has gone through some tough times.  She could have chose to make bad choices.  Instead had the courage to ask for help.  One step from homeless and with no where else to turn she turned to us.

We now have a beautiful, funny, smart, talented, energetic young lady staying with us.  My wife finally has another female in the home (even our cat is male) and the daughter that she had longed hoped for.  Me, I get to see a young lady get a fresh start at life.  She is wonderful.  It is sad that her own family didn't appreciate the great person that she is....their loss.  Honestly, I feel that she probably saved us as much as we saved her.  With our older son off to college and my younger son (her boyfriend) busy with college and work, my wife and I were feeling a tad out of sorts lately. My wife now has someone to talk and shop with and I have someone to share my love of music and humor.  A"win-win"!

My other son's girlfriend got me to watch Firefly on Netflix.  LOVED IT!!!!  Great cast, fun scripts, and a cool space ship...what more could a long time sci-fi nerd wish for.  Sad that it did't last longer. As Jubal Early would say, "Does that seem right to you?"

Bought a couple of Chaos Daemon Princes for my WH40K Daemon Army.  I am hoping that they will complete it.  You know as well as I do that I'm a miniatures addict and will never truly be done.  I'm pretty sure that there will be more Chaos to come.

I just finished painting a Reaper Bones Ape-X figure.  On a scale of 1 to 10 I'd give it an 8.5.  While not 100% satisfied with it, my attempts to "improve it" have only seemed to make it worse.  Time to quit while I'm ahead.

Nothing new on the brew front.  I've been enjoying a case of Beck's while hanging around the old fire-pit with friends.  We haven't solved all of the world's problems yet but we're working on it.

Summer is nearly over...sad but true.  The leaves will be changing and bright yellow school buses will delay our early morning commutes.  Soon the crispness in the air will give way to dancing snowflakes.  The circle of life continues.  It is the people in our lives that make the circle complete!

Wink of an Eye

The world lost two great men this past week: Leonard Nimoy and Boris Nemtsov.

Leonard Nimoy's portrayal of Spock in Star Trek TOS was nothing short of amazing to me. He took a fictional character , an alien (well half), and had him show more humanity than we often see in one another. I held a special place in my heart for Spock ever since the first time I saw him on my parent's old black and white tv back in the Sixties. I was a chubby nerdy little kid that didn't quite fit in. I loved playing with toy soldiers, reading comic books, and dreaming of being an astronaut someday.

To me Spock was a hero. He was what I wanted to be. He was different but at the same time cool. He was smart but at the same time cool. He was peaceful yet powerful. (And the ladies seemed to love him.)

Even after Star Trek went off of the air, I still loved Spock, Bones, and Kirk. I went to all of the movies and am not ashamed to admit that I got a bit teary-eyed when Spock died saving the Enterprise. I feel that way again now. It almost seems like I have lost an old friend. I'd like to thank Leonard Nimoy for making Mr. Spock such an important part of my life as-well-as in the lives of millions around the world. My condolences to his family and friends. Live long and prosper Leonard! Second star to the right and straight on till morning.

I wish that I could have known Boris Nemtsov. It seems like he was a man of peace. It seems that he deeply cared for his country. It seems like he was willing to risk everything to make things right in Russia. These beliefs cost him his life.

I was in Russia in 1993. I met some wonderful people there. I found that they were basically the same as we are. They shared all the same wants, needs, and desires that we have. Back then they thought that we hated them and wanted to destroy them. They were just as shocked to hear me say that we felt the same way about them.

The Russians are just people. People who want a better world and a better life. Boris Nemtsov seemed like that's what he wanted for them. Russia has lost a great leader. My condolences to Mr. Nemtsov's family and friends and to the Russian People. I join with you in the hope that his efforts were not in vain and that his death will help to facilitate a better tomorrow for Russia.

What the Clix?!

I recently purchased a bunch of stuff from Miniature Market.  My mind was blown when I saw the size of some of the newer HeroClix.  Compared with some of the older HeroClix, the new ones are ginormous!  The new Grifter and Spartan figs are WAY bigger!!!!  They look extremely odd when placed with more normal sized figures.  Making the matter worse is the new goofy-a$$ bases that WizKids now uses.  Can someone over @ WizKids do a little scale conformity???  Really, I mean the figure scales are all over the board!

On the other side of the coin, I purchased my first minis made by Reaper Miniatures. In a word...AWESOME!!!  I bought a bunch from the "Bones" line.  Love 'em!  Nice sculpts, cool look, great variety, reasonably priced!!!!  Can't wait to get more!!!!

I also bought a DreamForge Leviathan Crusader.  The sum-beach is da bomb!  With so many other projects in the works, I think that I will hold off on this one until the summer.
*Side-note: DreamForge is putting out a bunch of new models that look way cool!  Check them out on their website.  http://dreamforge-games.com/